Magnums of champagne, watches and boxes for weekends which will perhaps cost him dearly… The Minister of Health Agnès Firmin Le Bodo, moved up in rank after the resignation of Aurélien Rousseau in December, was heard on Tuesday by investigators from the judicial police and the DGCCRF. She is the target of a judicial investigation opened in June 2023 for having received illicit gifts as a pharmacist without declaring them.
Agnès Firmin Le Bodo was interviewed in the premises of the Regional Directorate of the Economy, Employment, Labor and Solidarity (Dreets) of Rouen by investigators from the judicial police and the Repression of Fraud (DGCCRF) responsible for investigations into gifts offered by Urgo laboratories, said the public prosecutor Bruno Dieudonné.
Magnums of champagne, watches, boxes for weekends
The minister is the subject of a judicial investigation for having received, as a pharmacist in Le Havre, gifts from Urgo laboratories worth 20,000 euros, according to Mediapart which revealed the affair in December. Magnums of champagne, watches, weekend boxes, bottles of wine… The list of gifts that the new interim Minister of Health has received from Urgo laboratories is long. And embarrassing.
Pharmacist by profession, Agnès Firmin Le Bodo, who runs a pharmacy in Le Havre (Seine-Maritime), is suspected of having had luxury products delivered 21 times, from 2015 to 2020. “Urgo thus sought to retain pharmacists and increase their commercial margins,” explains Mediapart.
The Minister of Health defended herself against these accusations at the end of December. “There is no conflict of interest, no benefit in kind, no gift, there are commercial negotiations,” she assured.
A large number of pharmacists concerned
The gifts were offered by Urgo in exchange for a waiver by the pharmacist of a commercial discount from the laboratory to the pharmacy. This prohibited practice concerned a large number of pharmacists and the laboratory was sentenced in January 2023 to a fine of 1.125 million euros – including 625,000 euros suspended – by the Dijon criminal court, after an investigation by the repression of fraud .
According to professional sources, the DGCCRF is investigating all pharmacists who accepted these gifts (watches, magnums of champagne, cast iron casserole dish, weekend boxes, etc.).